Françoise Dorléac
Actor · Died June 26, 1967, aged 25 · Paris, France
Françoise Paulette Louise Dorléac (21 March 1942 – 26 June 1967) was a French actress. She was the elder sister of Catherine Deneuve, with whom she starred in the musical comedy film, The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967). Her other films include Philippe de Broca's That Man from Rio, François Truffaut's The Soft Skin (both 1964), Val Guest's Where the Spies Are (1965), and Roman Polanski's Cul-de-sac (1966). Dorléac was the daughter of screen actors Maurice Dorléac and Renée Simonot. Slim, fair and blonde, she modeled for Dior and then made her film debut in The Wolves in the Sheepfold (1960), directed by Hervé Bromberger. She went on to appear in The Door Slams (1960) with Dany Saval and her sister Catherine Deneuve. Dorléac had a small role in Tonight or Never (1961) with Anna Karina for director Michel Deville, The Girl with the Golden Eyes (1961) with Marie Laforêt, All the Gold in the World (1961) with Bourvil, and Adorable Liar (1961) from director Deville. Dorléac was Jean-Pierre Cassel's leading lady in The Dance (1962) and had one of the leads in a TV movie, Les trois chapeaux claques (1962), directed by Jean-Pierre Marchand. She was reunited with Cassel in Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962) and was one of many stars of the television movie Teuf-teuf (1963). Dorléac leapt to international stardom with the female lead in That Man from Rio (1964) starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and directed by Philippe de Broca. She followed it with The Soft Skin (1964) directed by François Truffaut. She was in The Gentle Art of Seduction (1964) with Belmondo and Jean-Paul Brialy, with her sister in a support part. Dorléac was one of several French stars in Circle of Love (1964) directed by Roger Vadim, and appeared in a TV show, Les petites demoiselles (1964), directed by Deville and starring De Broca. She also appeared in the comedy films, Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962) opposite Jean-Claude Brialy, and Male Hunt (1964), with Belmondo and her sister. That Man from Rio and Soft Skin were seen widely internationally and Dorléac received an offer to play the female lead in an expensive Hollywood financed epic, Genghis Khan (1965). She was David Niven's love interest in a spy film at MGM, Where the Spies Are (1966). Dorléac appeared as the adulterous wife in Roman Polanski's black comedy Cul-de-sac (1966), shot in Britain. She returned to France to star in a TV adaption of the Prosper Mérimée novel Julie de Chaverny ou la Double Méprise (1966) directed by Marchand. Then she joined Gene Kelly and her sister Catherine, who was a cinematic star by this time, playing starstruck singing twins in The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), an homage to Hollywood musicals. Her final film role was the female lead in Billion Dollar Brain (1967) opposite Michael Caine, who played spy Harry Palmer. Dorléac's parents were protective of her and her siblings, and well into adulthood she shared a bunk bed with her sister Catherine Deneuve in the family home, to which she regularly returned, according to Roger Vadim. Dorléac was on the brink of international stardom when she died in a traffic accident on 26 June 1967, aged 25. Source: Article "Françoise Dorléac" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 21, 1942
- June 26, 1967 (aged 25)
- Paris, France
- Actor
- 11 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
What are Françoise Dorléac's films like?
Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 1 · Wry 3 · Earnest 6
Light 7 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
Grounded 4 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2
A split, not a type: Gentle 5 · Charged 4 · Intense 2
Steady 5 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 1
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 3
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 6 · Relentless 1
Casual 6 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 10 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 10 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Allyas Nathalie Cartier in Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962)
- Shadowas Françoise Bicart alias Sandra Rossen in Male Hunt (1964)
- Tricksteras Nicole in The Soft Skin (1964)
- Shapeshifteras Vikki in Where the Spies Are (1965)
- Heroas Solange Garnier in The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Moods and endings
- Happy7
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Françoise Dorléac's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 11 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Françoise Dorléac's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
25 credits, 11 with a MovieCove page; 18 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Jacques Demy: The Pink and the Black (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Belmondo: The Incorrigible (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Morceaux de Cannes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)
Billion Dollar Brain(1967)
Midcredits score: 39th percentile of all films
The Double Contempt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1967)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Le trésor de l’orpheline (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1966)
Cul-de-sac(1966)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
Where the Spies Are(1965)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
Genghis Khan(1965)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Circle of Love(1964)
Midcredits score: 33rd percentile of all films
Male Hunt(1964)
Midcredits score: 46th percentile of all films
The Little Misses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
The Soft Skin(1964)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films
That Man from Rio(1964)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all filmsTeuf-teuf (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1963)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Les Trois Chapeaux claques (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
The Dance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Adorable Liar (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1962)
Tout l'or du monde(1961)
Midcredits score: 37th percentile of all films
Tonight or Never (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Girl with the Golden Eyes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
The Door Slams (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
The Wolves in the Sheepfold (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1960)
Career shape
Star power in the 94th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 25 titles from 1960 to 2024.
Biggest box office
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Highest rated
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Film career
Top draw in 1 MovieCove title.
- 1964Screen debut· That Man from Rio
- 1964First top-billed film· The Soft Skin
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Françoise Dorléac's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 39th percentile, the median of all 11; across their 10 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 52nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up4
- 25th to 49th7
Shape of the crowd
4 of their 11 titles are Broadly Agreed.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Broadly Agreed4
- Mixed3
Reviewers score the acting 74/100 in their films, across 8 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 44. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Françoise Dorléac work with?
People who share at least 2 of Françoise Dorléac's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Catherine Deneuve shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Édouard MolinaroShared titles: Male Hunt (1964), Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Édouard Molinaro
Actors
- Catherine DeneuveShared titles: Mag Bodard, un destin (2005), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), Male Hunt (1964)See all 3 shared titles with Catherine Deneuve
- Claude RichShared titles: Male Hunt (1964), Tout l'or du monde (1961)See all 2 shared titles with Claude Rich
- Daniel CeccaldiShared titles: That Man from Rio (1964), The Soft Skin (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Daniel Ceccaldi
- Jean-Claude BrialyShared titles: Male Hunt (1964), Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Jean-Claude Brialy
Composers and editors
- Georges DelerueShared titles: That Man from Rio (1964), The Soft Skin (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Georges Delerue
- Monique IsnardonShared titles: Male Hunt (1964), Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Monique Isnardon
- Robert IsnardonShared titles: Male Hunt (1964), Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Isnardon
- Georges Van ParysShared titles: Arsène Lupin contre Arsène Lupin (1962), Tout l'or du monde (1961)See all 2 shared titles with Georges Van Parys
Producers
- Georges LourauShared titles: Male Hunt (1964), Tout l'or du monde (1961)See all 2 shared titles with Georges Lourau
Mixed roles
- Jacques DemyShared titles: Mag Bodard, un destin (2005), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)See all 2 shared titles with Jacques Demy
- Mag BodardShared titles: Mag Bodard, un destin (2005), The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)See all 2 shared titles with Mag Bodard